


You Have My Blessing

by sophisticatedloserchick



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 12:32:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11897814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophisticatedloserchick/pseuds/sophisticatedloserchick
Summary: Missing scene from 3x14 where Barry goes to Joe to ask for his family ring to propose to Iris





	You Have My Blessing

Joe had been moments away from leaving the house for his date with Cecile when he heard a knock on the front door.

He knew something was up when he opened his front door to find Barry. 

Seeing Barry wasn’t a complete surprise. Despite having moved out months ago Barry was still a frequent visitor to the West family home. Whether it was to watch Sunday football with Joe or for a family dinner. The odd part was Barry had knocked when Joe always had made it clear to him this was his home too.

There was also the fact Barry looked a little jumpy.

“Bar?” Joe stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, hey Joe.” Barry rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Can I come in?”

“Its your home Bar,” Joe took a step to the side to let Barry in. “You are welcome anytime.”

Barry managed a weak smile as he rushed in. He took in Barry’s attire of a fancy black suit and his hair neatly combed back. Joe would have guessed he was on his way for a date with Iris. Except he knew that his daughter was back at Picture News writing her article. Joe watched curiously as he made a bee-line for the living room. Barry looked like he was about to sit down on the couch but then stopped himself. He flailed around a bit before ending up in the middle of the room with his arms folded over his chest.

“You alright there son?” Joe raised his eyebrows at Barry.

“Yes of course,” Barry swallowed thickly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Cause you look ready to jump out your skin.” Joe pointed out. “I haven’t seen you this nervous since your first day at CCPD when you lost the files of the murder case you were working on.”

“I did eventually find those files you know,” Barry said as the tension eased out of his shoulders.

“Only after you had a minor panic attack and was making plans to flee the country to avoid Singh,” Joe chuckled fondly at the memory. “So whats wrong? Everything okay with Iris?”

At the mention of his daughter Barry started bouncing nervously on his feet. He looked to be a strange mix of terrified and excited. Joe’s parental instincts kicked into high gear. With Savitar’s threat hovering over Iris anything involving his daughter put Joe on high alert.

“Tell me whats wrong,” Joe strode forward to Barry. “Is she hurt? Is it something about her future?”

“Well kinda….” Barry trailed off vaguely. 

Joe loved Barry like his own but sometimes he truly tried his patience.

“Barry,” Joe said in his firm, no nonsense voice.

“Can we sit down?” Barry asked instead of answering. “I feel like this would be better if we were sitting down.”

Joe resisted the urge to throw his hands up in frustrations.

Seconds later the two of them were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. With Joe staring Barry down while he continued to fidget.

“Well?” Joe pushed.

“Joe I need to ask you something,” Barry cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “No actually I more need to tell you something.”

Barry took a deep breath before looking directly at Joe.

“I want to marry Iris,” Barry said clearly and simply.

“Yeah Bar I know,” Joe gave him a weird look. “I’ve known you wanted to marry Iris since you were twelve.”

Barry’s face crumbled a little in frustration but he held firm.

“Well yes that’s true,” Barry said. “I meant I want to ask her to marry me.”

“Oh,” Joe said taken aback.

“Soon,” Barry continued. “As in I want to ask her tonight.”

“I see,” Joe said slowly.

“I know you think its too soon,” Barry started to babble. “I know she and I just moved in together. And everything right now is crazy with Savitar and prophecies. Everyone will say I should wait. That I shouldn’t rush things and take my time.”

Joe opened his mouth to speak but Barry interjected.

“But I love her Joe,” Barry said with such conviction. “She is everything to me. I want the two of us to build a life together. For the future to be our future.”

“Barry,” Joe breathed out cause he truly didn’t know what else to say.

“It would mean a lot if I had your blessing,” Barry’s eyes drifted down briefly down to his hands. “There’s also something else…”

Oh god, Joe thought to himself, does he mean grand-babies too?

“My family ring,” Barry looked back up at Joe. “The one you’ve been holding on for me until the day I was ready to propose. That’s the ring I want to give Iris.”

Joe let out a long breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. Somehow by Barry asking for the ring the reality of the situation finally hit him.

“You have my blessing,” Joe said thickly. “You always did.”

Barry brightened up considerably with those words. A genuine smile appearing on his lips since he first walked into the house.

Joe meant it too. No one on Earth knew better than him how much Barry loved his daughter. While he’d never think anyone was good enough for his baby-girl Barry was the only man he trusted to treat her right. To support her, make her the number one priority, and to make her happy.

“I’ll get the ring,” Joe said getting up from his chair.

Joe was halfway out of the room when Barry called out to him.

“Thank you Joe,” Barry said sincerely. “It means a lot to know you approve. To know you think I’m worthy of it.”

Joe nodded in return not trusting himself to say anything else without losing it.

Upstairs in his bedroom Joe walked over to his closet and pulled down a wooden box he kept on the top shelf. He wiped off the dust and lifted the lid to the ring box inside. The ring box itself was a unique item, made from sterling silver with etchings along the sides. A remnant of time long past.

Joe knew what that ring meant to Barry. The ring that had once belong to his great-grandfather who fought through a war to get back to the woman he loved. The ring that had been passed down through three generations of Allen men who gave it to the women who’d become their wives. The ring Barry’s father had given to his mother. Now Barry wanted to give that ring to Iris. To make the two of them be part of that legacy of spending your life with the person you loved the most. Barry wanted that for Iris, for them. Even with all the darkness in their lives right now all Barry could see was a happy future.

Maybe Barry had a point that the whole thing was crazy and the two of them should wait. Yet Joe could not think of one single reason why two people in love, two people who had lost so much in their lives, shouldn’t be allowed to be happy.

Joe could feel his eyes burning with tears. His chest constricting with emotion. The last time he’d seen this ring box Barry had been a broken eleven year old boy who had just lost his entire family. That boy had now grown in the man who wanted to build a future with Iris. His precious daughter who deserved nothing less than to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved.

The tears gathered in his eyes now. Emotions bubbling to the surface. Happiness for how far Barry and Iris had come, and fear that there remained a threat that could tear them apart.

Joe quickly wiped his eyes before heading back downstairs with the ring. He vowed to himself not to let his fears cloud the day. To instead only focus on the two amazing people he was blessed to have in his life and the journey they were about to start together.


End file.
